‘I need to speak to Mr Booth Watson – urgently.’
? ? ?
‘What a spread,’ said William, joining the queue at the buffet table.
‘Remember you’re trying to lose a couple of pounds,’ said Beth.
William ignored her protestations and piled his plate with coronation chicken, tomatoes and salad, before moving on to the other end of the table, where he filled any empty spaces with ham, cheese and new potatoes.
‘You may drag a man out of his cave,’ sighed Beth, ‘but however hard you try to improve him, he’ll always be a caveman.’ She took a sliver of smoked salmon, half a boiled egg and a little salad, before strolling across to join Paul, who was chatting to the bride. His plate resembled an even larger mountain.
‘This is Beth Warwick, William’s wife,’ said Paul between mouthfuls.
‘Ross speaks so highly of your husband,’ said Jo. ‘But as I’m sure you already know he was always happiest working undercover. Otherwise he would never have considered leaving the force.’
‘William’s the exact opposite,’ said Beth. ‘He had a short time working undercover, but couldn’t wait to get back to the Yard and be reunited with the team.’
‘That’s why they made such a good partnership,’ said Paul.
‘Am I allowed to ask where you’re going on honeymoon?’ said Beth.
‘Ross offered me four choices,’ replied Jo. ‘Any one of the three Nightmare Holidays or touring the Loire valley vineyards, sampling their finest wines and enjoying the delicious local cuisine, before ending up in Paris for a long weekend at the Ritz Carlton.’
‘You must have had to think long and hard about that,’ said Beth.
‘About a nanosecond,’ admitted Jo. ‘However, once we get back, Ross intends to experience all that Nightmare Holidays have to offer while I stay at home and make sure everything’s ready for Josephine … or Joseph.’
‘He invited me to join him on an “Unpleasant” holiday,’ said Paul, ‘but sadly none of the dates quite fitted in with my busy diary.’
They all laughed, as Beth glanced across the room to see an older woman deep in conversation with the commander.
‘I must admit, I never thought my son would get married,’ she was saying. ‘So this all came as a complete surprise.’
‘A pleasant one, I hope, Mrs Hogan,’ said The Hawk. ‘You can be very proud of your son, and I’m sorry we’re losing him.’
‘Praise indeed, commander. But as a good Roman Catholic, you can’t have failed to notice that they’ve got married just in time,’ said Mrs Hogan, glancing in the direction of her daughter-in-law.
‘I fear I’m a lapsed Catholic,’ the commander replied.
‘Lapsed enough not to be concerned about her previous profession?’
The commander couldn’t think of a suitable reply.
‘Who’s that chatting to William?’ asked Jackie, as she joined Paul in the queue for a second helping.
‘Major Cormac Kinsella. Ross’s new boss. He’s completely bonkers, so Ross should feel at home,’ added Paul, as he grabbed the last chicken leg.
‘When does Ross join you?’ asked William.
‘First of the month,’ said Major Kinsella. ‘So you’ll only have him for a couple more weeks after he gets back from his honeymoon.’
‘Couldn’t be better timing,’ said William. ‘We have one last assignment that can’t go ahead without him.’
‘Dare I ask?’ said Kinsella. ‘Ross refuses to tell me anything about what he gets up to at the Yard.’
‘Neither will I,’ said William. ‘If I did, I’d lose my job.’
‘Should that happen,’ said Kinsella, taking a card from an inside pocket and presenting it to William, ‘please get in touch.’
‘Why would he want to do that?’ asked Beth, as she appeared by William’s side.
‘We’re most fortunate to have Ross joining us as the senior ground operative, Mrs Warwick,’ said Kinsella, ‘but it won’t be long before I’ll be looking for a new managing director to take my place. Frankly, I think your husband would be the ideal person to take the company on to its next stage.’
‘What can there possibly be beyond “Unbearable”？’
‘A salary of eighty thousand pounds a year, shares in the company and a percentage of the profits.’
‘And what makes you think I’d be the right man for the job?’ asked William. ‘After all, you’ve only known me for ten minutes.’